for McKinzie, poetic justice

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And, so it is with McKinzie. He came into the San Felipe Stakes with an undefeated record, clouded by a great big asterisk. After all, he didn’t cross the wire first in the Los Alamitos Futurity (G1) last year. He ran on well enough inside in the stretch that day, but could not , but got bumped up after Solomini was taken down for interfering with third-place Instilled Regard. Solomini wasn’t losing that race no matter what, and would Instilled Regard have been second and not third after Solomini bumped past? Though he was no match for the first horse across the wire, McKinzie was going well enough that I’m not convinced he would have. Caught in the middle of a dubious disqualification, McKinzie got lucky.

Three months and a day later, McKinzie got unlucky.

He turned for home inside Bolt d’Oro. They bumped once. Perhaps McKinzie went out a touch, but Bolt d’Oro perceptibly came in. Their withers met, but it looked a product of racing in tight quarters, more than anything. It diminished the fight of neither. Bolt d’Oro forced his head in front; McKinzie came back. As the field neared the wire, McKinzie did come out, pushing Bolt d’Oro out with him. But — did it cost him a better placing? Inconclusive, and judging from how McKinzie and Bolt d’Oro were each going late, unlikely.

A photo showed McKinzie’s nose across the wire first in the San Felipe, but the inquiry light blinked. 4-1 blinked. And blinked, and blinked, and blinked. Then, it became 1-4. The blinking ceased. McKinzie, so lucky three months back, ran out of luck this time around.

We can call Bolt d’Oro the big winner here, and Solomini the big loser. But, as it shakes out, McKinzie is exactly where he should be: three-for-four lifetime. Poetic justice.